Kiwi High Court ruling to pave the way for changes at Future Fund?

The High Court has ruled that New Zealand’s sovereign wealth fund, like Australia’s Future Fund, made illegal investments with a disregard for human rights. Cathy Peters reports.

Last week the New Zealand Supreme Court made a decision. landmark decision in relation to the New Zealand Superannuation Fund, the country’s $86 billion sovereign wealth fund. It found NZ Superfund’s policies were ‘unreasonable and unlawful’ and failed to properly address human rights issues.

It was also established that the Custodians of the fund had a duty to reformulate policy documents regarding ethical investment exceptions and human rights.

Australia’s Future Fund may face a similar challenge

considering the current investment policy and investments.

Australia’s Future Fund Custodian Board manages $335.3 billion in investments made up of Australia’s sovereign wealth fund and six other public wealth funds. Their policies on ethical investments are limited and vague and have not yet been tested in a court of law.

Future Fund tries to cover up war crimes investment in Elbit

NZ Superfund’s actions exposed

New Zealand’s decision follows years of advocacy by Palestine Solidarity Network Aotearoa (PSNA), the Fund was pressured to divest from Israel’s largest arms company, Elbit, in 2012 and more recently in 2021, when the Fund removed five Israeli banks from its portfolio due to their role in financing Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.

After adding five Israeli banks to its investment exclusion list in 2021, the New Zealand Fund changed its policy on withdrawing human rights investments in 2022, creating a new exclusion policy that does not directly reference internationally recognized human rights standards and criteria, such as the UN Global Compact it had previously cited.

PSNA Co-Chairman John Minto believes that this action is a result of intense lobbying by the Israel lobby, as the Fund’s action against Israeli banks was followed by numerous Official Information Act (OIA) requests from the Israel Institute of New Zealand: “The pro-Israel lobby uses intrusive OIA requests to harass and bully organizations that have taken action to hold Israel accountable for war crimes and crimes against humanity.”

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Was there an external input required? @NZSuperFund make changes?

To benefit Zionist Israel. . . pic.twitter.com/aefegSBKJd

— Letters for Palestine (@LettersForPale1) April 21, 2026

Minto and two others recently took legal action over the Fund’s ongoing investments in four companies operating in Israeli settlements and that the Fund’s amended exclusion policy now violates legal requirements, stating:

“This is beyond disgraceful. Our largest government-owned sovereign wealth fund on behalf of the people of New Zealand is

There is no specific reference to human rights standards in the investment exclusion policy.

of the court decision It was clear that the fund’s amended policies did not meet the essential requirements of the New Zealand Superannuation and Retirement Income Act in relation to exclusions from the fund for alleged breaches of human rights standards.

He stated that the UN has not abandoned its investments in Israeli companies, which it lists as complicit in the Israeli occupation of the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT), which is considered illegal under international law. Listed companies on the list UN database – Airbnb, Booking.com, Expedia and Motorola.

“This is an important and timely win for Palestine,” says Minto. “We are confident that if Superfund does its job properly, it will quickly exit the four companies it invests in.”

Future Fund under review

The Australian Future Fund Board has introduced a new ‘Responsible Investment Creed’ and a new Responsible Investment PolicyThe Periodic Investment Report, dated December 31, 2025, lists investments in the following Israeli banks and companies listed in the UN database: Bank Hapoalim, Bank Leumi Le-Israel BM, Israel Discount Bank Ltd, Booking Holdings, Inc., Expedia Group, Inc., as well as arms companies Elbit Systems Ltd, BAE Systems PLc and DroneShield Ltd.

The Fund operates under the Future Fund Act 2006 and the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013; this law requires ‘international best practices for corporate investment’ as well as ‘the proper use and management of public resources for which the authority is responsible’; ‘Appropriate’ means ‘efficient, effective, economical and ethical’ when used in relation to the use or management of public resources.

The Future Fund’s Responsible Investment Policy states that ‘Exclusion categories are defined by economic activities prohibited by agreements and conventions approved by the Government’.

Australia has ratified the Geneva Conventions and Additional Protocols, in which the illegality of Israeli settlements and any economic support for them is clear; so is investing in arms companies whose products were used in the Gaza genocide, given that we have also signed the Genocide Convention.

Ignoring the risk of war crimes

Foreign Minister Wong in July 2024 sanctions announced spoke about a number of Israeli settlers and reiterated the Australian Government’s position that Israeli settlements in the West Bank are illegal under international law. In November 2024, the government confirmed this position by voting in favor of the UN Resolution ‘Israeli practices and settlement activities affecting the rights of the Palestinian people and other Arabs in the occupied territories – (A/C.4/79/L.16)’.

The Future Fund is exclusion approach Although it aims to ‘ensure compliance with Australia’s international obligations’, it only refers to workers’ rights, Modern Slavery and ‘controversial’ weapons as areas of exclusion, as well as primary tobacco production, a decision taken by the Board, which is not referenced anywhere in its policies.

Last year, MWM It identified the risks the Future Fund and other Australian pension funds were taking by continuing to invest in arms companies supplying Israel’s genocidal activities in Gaza.

We support genocide. Australian funds are at risk of breaching international law.

Human rights concerns ignored

The only specific mention of human rights in the Future Fund’s policy documents is in the Fund’s Audit and Risk Committee’s notes on responsible investment risks and opportunities. Human rights are listed, but there are no benchmarks or references to international best practices such as the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs), which set global standards for preventing and addressing human rights risks in business activities.

According to its UNGP obligations, the Future Fund has human rights obligations to protect against human rights violations in the context of its investment activities and as a major investor.

detect, prevent and mitigate adverse human rights impacts associated with their investments.

UN Human Rights Council in March 2026 definite In its findings and directives regarding Israeli settlements. The declaration included a call for ‘businesses to take all necessary measures to comply with their responsibilities under the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights’ and to ‘cease contributing to the establishment, maintenance, development or consolidation of Israeli settlements or the exploitation of the natural resources of the Occupied Palestinian Territories, including East Jerusalem’.

A Future Fund spokesperson responded: MWM Questions regarding the Fund’s ongoing investments in companies and banks operating in Israeli settlements and arms companies:

“The Future Fund Safeguarding Board (the “Board”) invests in accordance with the Future Fund Act and Australian law, underpinned by long-standing exclusions, sanctions and due diligence frameworks. Portfolio exclusions are based on controversial Conventions or Agreements relating to arms approved by manufacturers of pure tobacco products as well as in Australia. The Board monitors sanctions regimes in multiple jurisdictions and requires investment managers to comply with applicable local sanctions. The Board continues to monitor domestic and international developments in institutional investment approaches in this area.”

New Future Fund chief Greg Combet tries to cover up Elbit’s war crimes investment